A new year is an opportunity to re-evaluate, prioritize and upgrade your life. What do you feel most inspired to do, learn, and explore in your life? Are you living with inspiration or obligation? Who brings out the best in you and what obligations and responsibilities are you ready to release that no longer serve you? How can you give yourself full permission to do more of what fills you up and let go of the rest? Decide what kind of life you really want, then say no to everything that isn’t that.
Community News
Bell Let’s Talk Day is January 26
Did you know, according to the Mental Health Commission, on any given week, more than 500,000 Canadians are unable to go to work due to mental health problems? Have you experienced this in your workplace? I would encourage employers to have a Workplace Mental Health Strategy that includes the 13 factors of the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. When considering each factor, read the definition, and then come up with action plans that make sense for your workplace. You will see a return on your investment. Take small steps to make positive changes today!
Mindful Eating
To be a smart eater, you need to take a more considered approach to what is on your plate. Some health advisors suggest Mindful Eating. This involves eating slowly without distraction and learning how to distinguish between actual hunger and non-hunger triggers. Since it takes roughly 20 minutes for the brain to get the message from your stomach that you are full, eating quickly means there is more chance of unnecessary food being consumed. Mindful eating is based on appreciating your food and understanding the link between how you consume it and how it contributes to your well-being.
Acupuncture for Back Pain
Chronic back pain can often be caused by things like muscle or ligament strain, bulging or ruptured discs, arthritis, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, or osteoporosis. Anyone can develop chronic back pain at any age, and factors like lack of exercise, excess weight, disease, and physical injury can increase your risk. Acupuncture may help to lessen symptoms of chronic back pain by unblocking energy and restoring your body’s energy and flow. Studies have shown that acupuncture may improve chronic pain by reducing the brain’s response to the pain, as well as improving blood flow to the area causing pain.
Hearing Loss and Brain Health
Hearing involves not only your ears but also the brain, so it’s no wonder that hearing loss can go hand in hand with thinking and memory problems. Studies are increasingly linking hearing loss to issues such as faster brain shrinkage, earlier onset of significant cognitive impairment, and up to a quintupled risk of dementia. Addressing conditions such as hearing loss, however, could help prevent a third of dementia cases worldwide, per a UK research collaborative. With hearing health and overall wellness so connected, it’s important to seek regular hearing checks and address listening difficulties early.
Have a Smoke-Free 2022
Something about leaving an old year behind and looking ahead at the clean slate of a new one inspires most of us to try. We think about making lasting positive changes in our lives, and we do it with hope and enthusiasm. If you’re planning to start the new year without a cigarette in your hand, but have had no luck sticking with past New Year’s resolutions, consider laser therapy. Laser therapy can help to control cravings and withdrawal symptoms. In clinical studies, patients report a noticeable reduction in cravings, and have a higher chance of success in quitting.
January Brain Teasers
1. How come hyenas are so healthy? 2. What will a bee get from visiting too many flowers? 3. What game can be dangerous to your mental health? 4. What is the healthiest kind of water? 5. What ring is actually a square?
Clean Eating Recipe
Easy Red Lentil Soup. Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil. 2 carrots. 1 onion. 3 cloves garlic. 2 tsp each ground cumin & turmeric. 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper. 1/4 tsp cayenne. 1 pkg. 900 ml. vegetable broth. 1 cup dried red lentils. 1/4 cup chopped parsley. 3 tbsp. lemon juice. Directions: Heat oil in large saucepan. Cook carrots, onion, and garlic until starting to soften, 3 to 5 min. Stir in cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook 1 min. until fragrant. Stir in broth and lentils; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 25 min. Stir in chopped parsley and lemon juice. Find more healthy recipes at Sobeys.com
Brain Teaser Answers
1. Because laughter is the best medicine. 2. High bud-pressure. 3. Marbles, you don’t want to lose them. 4. Well water. 5. A boxing ring.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
My Doctor told me I should cut more carbs. So, I bought a new pizza knife.
Words to Live By
There are greater things to be achieved in every New Year, and each and everyone must prepare themselves to be great, not by words of the mouth, but by a lot of sacrifices. – Michael Bassey Johnson
